1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording medium conveyance apparatus for conveying by fastening a recording medium to an endless belt member and a recording apparatus, comprising the recording medium conveyance apparatus, and performing a recording on a recording medium, which is a material to be conveyed.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, in the recording apparatus, for example, an ink jet recording apparatus performing a recording by a recording device of an ink jet system, there has been a type using a recording head of a full line type, which can record at high speed with high quality. In this recording apparatus, there has been generally known a method in which an electrically conductive electrode is provided in the endless belt member which conveys the recording medium and given a charge so as to generate an electrostatic force, thereby performing the recording while conveying by fastening the recording medium to the belt member.
A background technique of the recording medium conveyance apparatus leading to the completion of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 which are also the embodiments to which the present invention is adapted.
As shown in FIG. 4, on a conveyance belt 31 as an endless belt member, fastening power generation means constituted by an electrode plate 36a made of an electrically conductive metal, a base layer 36c, a surface layer 36d, a member to be fed 36e and the like are integrally or movably provided with the movement of the conveyance belt. The member to be fed 36e and the surface layer 36d are constituted in such a manner as to be substantially on the same flat surface.
As shown in FIG. 4, electrical feeding means for supplying electricity to the conveyance belt 31 is constituted by an electrical feeding brush 51, an electrical feeding electrode 52 and support member 53. The member to be fed 36e is brought into contact with the electrical feeding brush 51 for supplying a charge. From this electrical feeding brush 51, the charge is supplied to the member to be fed 36e so as to generate the electrostatic force. In this way, an excellent fastening force can always be generated on the conveyance belt 31.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 39 denotes a charge elimination brush. By charge-eliminating the conveyance belt 31 by this charge elimination brush 39 so as to eliminate the fastening force, the recording medium (the sheet material) can be smoothly discharged.
Reference numeral 40 denotes a sheet expulsion sensor for detecting a discharge of the recording medium from a recording area. It is constituted in such a manner that, by not detecting the discharge of the recording medium, the failure of a discharge conveyance (a discharge jam) of the recording medium in a discharge portion (not shown) can be detected. When the discharge jam occurs, a belt driving is allowed to be promptly interrupted.
Reference numerals 91, 92, 93, 94 denote recording medium float detection sensors for detecting a float (gap) of the conveyance belt from the recording medium. This sensor is arranged just in front of each recording device (an ink jet recording head) 7Y, 7M, 7C, 7K. This is because when the top end or the rear end of the recording medium passes under the recording device in a state of being floated from the belt surface, the recording medium damages the surface of the recording device by rubbing the surface (the ink discharging port forming surface) of the recording device and, therefore, in order to prevent this, the sensor was provided. That is, if a float of the recording medium is detected in advance by the recording medium float detection sensor and the driving (the conveyance operation) of the conveyance belt is stopped, the passing under each recording device of the floated recording medium can be prevented in advance.
However, in a constitution based on the above described background technique, the jam processing after the occurrence of a jam was detected and the conveyance belt 31 was stopped was complicated. Usually, when the jam occurs, though the conveyance belt 31 is stopped in order to protect each recording device, because the conveyance belt 31 is put into a conveyance stopped state with the recording medium loaded as it is at this time, in such a stopped state, the charge elimination brush 39 could only charge eliminate a very narrow portion in contact with the conveyance belt 31. Accordingly, the recording medium which remains to be loaded on the conveyance belt 31 remains to be substantially fastened by the conveyance belt 31, and for this reason, the recording medium which is in a state of being loaded on the conveyance belt 31 was in a very difficult state for the operator to remove.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording medium conveyance apparatus allowing the recording medium which remains to be loaded on the conveyance belt to be easily removed and a recording apparatus comprising the recording medium conveyance apparatus when a jam occurs and a belt stops without installing a new member for charge-eliminating.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a recording medium conveyance apparatus for rotating an endless belt member and supplying electrical power to the belt member so as to convey and absorb the recording medium (the sheet material) to the surface of the belt member or the recording apparatus comprising the recording medium conveyance apparatus and performing a recording on the recording medium by the recording device, comprising: electrical feeding means capable of supplying electricity to the belt member comprising a portion to be fed by a first voltage value for fastening the recording medium or by a second voltage value for releasing the fastening of the recording medium; conveyance failure detection means for detecting the conveyance failure of the recording medium; and control means for performing the control of the belt member and the electrical feeding means based on the conveyance failure detection signal of the conveyance failure detection means, wherein when the conveyance failure is detected by the conveyance failure detection means the recording apparatus comprising the recording medium conveyance apparatus in which the electrical feeding means supplies electricity to the belt member at the second voltage value and the recording medium conveyance apparatus is provided.